I-T officers arrest case: CBDT orders inquiry

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has launched an internal inquiry into the recent arrest of four senior income tax officials by the CBI in a graft case. The report of the inquiry, to be conducted by a chief commissioner-rank officer, will soon be submitted to the CBDT top brass.

The report, according to sources, will detail the sequence of events of the official orders executed by the arrested officials and the specific tax evasion investigation case that the officials were working on. Any further action, under the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) rules, will be taken once any complicity is found against the officials, sources said.

The CBI, on June 4 had arrested Kanpur commissioner (I-T investigations) Kunal Singh, additional director (investigations) Ratan Singh, assistant director Uma Kant and inspector Harish Dhaundiyal in an alleged corruption case.

Two other people, managing director of Eldeco Pankaj Bajaj and chartered accountant Anil Jaiswal were also arrested in the case, the CBI had said.

The arrests had come a day after the CBI launched coordinated search operations in Delhi, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow and Noida after getting a tip-off that the officials had allegedly entered into a deal with Eldeco to allegedly help it in a tax evasion case, sources said.

The matter pertains to a survey carried out by the I-T officials on March 28 in connection with complaints of alleged tax evasion by Eldeco. All the officials and two others are at present in seven days' judicial custody.